VINCENTOWN, NJ, USA
N624FL
Piper PA-28-140
While landing, the student pilot flared about 15-20 feet above the runway. The airplane then made a 'rapid movement' to the left, and before any power or control correction could be made by the CFI, the airplane struck a snow bank. At the time of the accident, the CFI had accumulated about 14 hours total experience as a flight instructor.
On February 6, 2000, about 1620 Eastern Standard Time, a Piper PA-28-140, N624FL, was substantially damaged while landing at the Red Lion Airport, Vincentown, New Jersey. The certificated flight instructor (CFI), and student pilot, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the CFI stated that, while landing on Runway 23, a 2,880-foot long by 50-foot wide asphalt runway, "a gust of wind caused [him] to loose control of the airplane and go off the side of the runway." The airplane impacted a snow bank and tore off the left wing. The CFI additionally stated in a narrative of the accident that the student pilot was flying the airplane at the time of the accident. After crossing the threshold, the student pilot flared about 15-20 feet above the runway. The airplane then made a "rapid movement" to the left, and before any power or control correction could be made, the airplane struck a snow bank. At the time of the accident, the CFI had accumulated about 14 hours of total flight instruction experience, 9 hours of which were in make and model. The winds reported by an airport located 5 miles to the southeast, at 1555 were, from 270 degrees at 8 knots.
The CFI's delay in remedial action after the student pilot lost control of the airplane. A factor in the accident was the CFI's lack of total experience in flight instruction.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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